Friday, January 7, 2011

See-N-Read

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Link, Thing 1 and I are all readers.  We read a LOT.  Thing 1 and I typically stick with the printed word, while Link is usually reading on a computer (it's hard to drag him away hehehe)

Something I have been concerned about while Thing 1 is reading is the fact that as he gets better at reading, and the books become more complex, there's more and more lines of text filling the pages, making it harder to tell what line he's on and therefore causing him to get lost while reading.  (I do this fairly regularly myself, but it might be because the only time I get to read for long periods of time is at night when I'm about to fall asleep ;)  )


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Enter See-N-Read.  The polyester-based, matte, translucent material has a single line across it that is without color in order to allow you to see the line you are reading.  With the rest of it being a matte gray color, but not opaque, you can also see the things AROUND what you are reading, which is helpful when reading quickly, or when something is hyphenated at the end of the line.  And no glare!

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The See-N-Read Reading Tool is something I DEFINITELY see Thing 1 (and 2 and Voom eventually ;) ) using as he gets into books with a lot more text.  For now he prefers to point to words for the most part, so he dubbed this a bit of a nuisance.  *I*, however, love it!  I received two different sizes, the "book" size, which is 5.5" by 3", and the "document" size, which is 8.5" by 3" (the document size would be great for anyone who does things like legal work or similar professions and has to read page upon page upon page of text printed out... we bought a house last year, I've SEEN the stack of paperwork that comes with that, trust me, this would be great ;)  ).  I typically stick to the book size (since most of what I am reading IS books) and it does help a lot to keep me from rereading the same line 5 times in a half-asleep haze.


I also received the book sized Memory Mark See-N-Read, which is basically the same thing as the original See-N-Read, but there is an opening in the clear line where you can use a highlighter (or underline or make notes) and maintain your line.  This I haven't used much myself yet, but, I can definitely see where it would be useful.  Textbooks for older students (if they're allowed to write in them) can easily be marked for things to remember with this tool.  And the added bonus is that while it also helps you maintain what line you're READING, it also keeps you from accidentally highlighting the line above or below (ok, so I'm a clutz and it might just be ME who has that sort of issue)


And no, those who predominantly read for hours (and hours and hours...) on the computer are not left out.  There is also the eSee-N-Read, which, you guessed it, produces a Seen-N-Read for you to use on your PC.  Nice for helping keep your place if a child comes up and distracts you from what you're doing ;)  Or coworker.  Or anyone else for that matter.  (can you tell in our house it's usually a child?)


A LOT of research has gone into these products, which you can read here.  And not only THAT, but these have also been tested to be BPA and phthalate free (proof here)!


If you are interested in purchasing any of these, the See-N-Read can be ordered here, starting at 2.99 for book size and 3.49 for document size (available for purchase in bulk!).  Memory Mark can be found here, for teh same prices (ALSO available in bulk!), and the eSee-N-Read can be found here, starting at 29.99 for a single one (also available purchased for 3 computers or for 5 with a savings!).  ALSO, the eSee-N-Read has a free 7 day trial available!  The link to download the trial is on this page where you can also order it :)


As you can tell, I rather like this product, and highly recommend it.  If you would like some other opinions, go check out the rest of the Crew's reviews, found here.


Disclaimer: I received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion on the product.  I received no other compensation for this review.

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